by Jamie Foley
publisher’s synopsis
The elementals have decided they’re gods, and humans are nothing but fuel for their fire.
A starving trapper.
Merciless drought withers Kira’s ranch, leaving her family hungry—and desperate enough to cross the border into the forbidden forest to trap wild game.
But the forest is infested with tree-scorpions and giant cats that wield elemental invisibility, and they’re hungry, too.
When Kira mistakes one elemental creature for another, she ends up with the last thing she wants in her trap: an enemy soldier.
An invisible spy.
Ryon can’t afford to be a prisoner of war. If the Malaano Empire extracts his secrets, the rumors of war will be confirmed—and the tribes stand little chance against the Empire unless they can put aside generations of bad blood for the sake of a Tribal Alliance.
When Ryon’s escape leaves Kira injured and her livelihood in flames, Ryon must choose between aiding her… or returning to his chieftess with vital information. But can he survive the trek when an elemental pursues him for his rejected heritage?
A sacrificial princess.
Imperial Princess Vylia is given a powerful ancient stone as her wavesinger trials approach. But is the stone’s whispering voice from the water goddess, or a masquerading elemental the creator god imprisoned millennia ago?
When Vylia’s diplomatic mission to the tribal lands erupts in fiery revenge, she, Kira, and Ryon must work together to survive—or become pawns in the battle of the gods.
Emberhawk is awesome.
First off, let’s all take a moment to admire the stunning cover. And then let’s extend that moment because Jamie designed the cover. Seriously, she wrote this amazing story and designed the amazing cover! How cool is that?
All right, so let’s move on from the gorgeous cover to the story. I’ll start with the worldbuilding, which was amazing! I loved how Jamie developed the various cultures and races. They were all unique and well done. I also really appreciated how the story world felt bigger than the story. You know that there is so much more to explore beyond the pages of the story. Also, for those of you who use maps, the map in the book is also amazing.
The characters were fabulous and had great character voices. Jamie has a unique writing style, where her characters sound almost modern and contemporary, but they don’t feel out of place in the fantasy setting. It’s really well done. Also, the snark was great. The characters weren’t overly snarky but had just the right amount. And Felix is awesome.
The plot was well done and moved along nicely. It also started to set up the plot for the series, without feeling like it was entirely set up.
Emberhawk is a fabulous beginning to the series.
Cautions: brief mentions of men taking advantage of women; four instances of “coarse” language; two kisses; non-graphic moderate violence
Hailey Huntington 